Search

Patient safety and quality of care are critical components of effective healthcare delivery, and health care assistants (HCAs) play a vital role in achieving these objectives. As frontline workers, HCAs provide essential support to nursing staff and other healthcare professionals, engaging in a wide range of responsibilities that directly impact patient outcomes. Their duties include assisting with daily living activities, monitoring vital signs, and offering emotional support, which fosters a compassionate and safe environment for patients. HCAs are often the first to notice changes in patients' conditions, enabling early detection of potential complications and timely interventions that enhance patient safety. The effectiveness of HCAs in promoting patient safety is closely linked to their training and competence. Adequate education in areas such as infection control, communication skills, and basic clinical procedures is essential for HCAs to perform their roles effectively. Ongoing professional development opportunities further ensure that HCAs remain updated on best practices in patient care. Despite their critical contributions, HCAs face numerous challenges, including high workloads, emotional strain, and limited authority in decision-making processes. These challenges can impact their ability to provide optimal care and advocate for patient safety. Moreover, HCAs contribute to a positive patient experience by providing companionship and emotional support, which can alleviate feelings of anxiety and isolation. Their involvement in patient education and health promotion activities empowers patients to take an active role in their care, ultimately leading to better adherence to treatment plans and improved health outcomes. This article explores the multifaceted role of health care assistants in enhancing patient safety and quality of care, highlighting their responsibilities, the challenges they encounter, and the significant impact they have on patient outcomes. By recognizing and supporting the contributions of HCAs, healthcare organizations can foster a culture of safety and quality, ultimately leading to improved patient care and satisfaction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Historically, attendance has been a marker of academic performance, but the current medical education literature has had mixed results. In addition, attendance is dropping in the preclinical curricula, whereas, at the same time, the focus on United States Medical Licensing Examination Step 1 performance is increasing. This present study is a mixed-method approach correlating student attendance and access to the formal curriculum in a second-year pathophysiology course to performance on Step 1. Additionally, survey and focus group data evaluated the usage and importance of both the formal curriculum and third-party resources. Out of 112 eligible students, 77 participated in the study. There was no correlation between attendance or access to the learning materials and Step 1 performance. There was a strong correlation between the performance on the final examination and that of Step 1 (r = 0.813; P < 0.001) and a moderate correlation between formative quiz (r = 0.321; P = 0.005) and individual readiness assessment test performance (r = 0.351; P = 0.002) and Step 1 performance. Survey and focus group data show that students place high importance on faculty-developed materials that they can use on their own, but not attendance. The third-party resources are highly used as an adjunct to the formal curriculum and to focus on Step 1 study. Attendance and access to the formal curriculum do not predict Step 1 performance, whereas performance on high- and low-stakes internal assessments do. Further study on how the lack of social interaction gained from attendance affects development of other competencies and the learning climate are warranted.

Water and wastewater infrastructure globally is aging and in need of rehabilitation and replacement. Design-bid-build (DBB) is the traditional method of project delivery widely applied across the construction industry. However, alternative project delivery methods (APDM) such as construction manager at risk (CMAR) and design-build (DB) are on the rise demonstrating project delivery performance benefits. The research objective is to assess the impact of APDM specifically for the water and wastewater industry. A comprehensive list of performance metrics was identified from the literature and through an industry expert workshop. Information on 75 water and wastewater treatment plant projects using DBB, CMAR, and DB was collected. Quantitative data analysis revealed that DB statistically outperformed DBB in terms of project speed and intensity. This study contributed to the existing body of knowledge by showing that treatment plants can be delivered significantly faster and with greater quality for no additional cost by using APDM. Key words: project delivery, water infrastructure, alternative project delivery methods. Les infrastructures d'approvisionnement en eau et de traitement des eaux usees vieillissent et ont besoin d'etre remises en etat et remplacees. La conception-soumission-construction (CSC) est la methode traditionnelle d'execution de projets largement appliquee dans l'industrie de la construction. Cependant, d'autres methodes d'execution de projet (AMEP) comme le gestionnaire de construction a risque (GCR) et la conception-construction (CC) sont en hausse, ce qui demontre les avantages du rendement de l'execution de projet. L'objectif de la recherche est d'evaluer l'impact des AMEP specifiquement pour l'industrie de l'eau et des eaux usees. Une liste exhaustive de mesures du rendement a ete etablie a partir de la documentation et d'un atelier d'experts de l'industrie. On a recueilli des donnees sur 75 projets d'usines de traitement de l'eau et des eaux usees utilisant la CSC, le GCR et la CC. L'analyse quantitative des donnees a revele que la CC a un meilleur rendement statistiquement que celui de la CSC en matiere de vitesse et d'intensite du projet. Cette etude a contribue au corpus de connaissances existant en montrant que les usines de traitement peuvent etre livrees beaucoup plus rapidement et avec une meilleure qualite sans cout supplementaire en utilisant d'AMEP. Mots-cles : execution de projet, infrastructure de l'eau, autres methodes de realisation de projet., Introduction Today, there is a need to upgrade existing water and wastewater treatment facilities and build new ones due to aging and rapid population growth in urban centers. A large [...]

Background: The microbiota interacts with the brain through the gut-brain axis, and a distinct dysbiosis may lead to major depressive episodes. Bacteria can pass through the gut barrier and be found in the blood. Using a multiomic approach, we investigated whether a distinct blood microbiome and metabolome was associated with major depressive episodes, and how it was modulated by treatment. Methods: In this case-control multiomic study, we analyzed the blood microbiome composition, inferred bacterial functions and metabolomic profile of 56 patients experiencing a current major depressive episode and 56 matched healthy controls, before and after treatment, using 16S rDNA sequencing and liquid chromatography coupled to tandem mass spectrometry. Results: The baseline blood microbiome in patients with a major depressive episode was distinct from that of healthy controls (patients with a major depressive episode had a higher proportion of Janthinobacterium and lower levels of Neisseria) and changed after antidepressant treatment. Predicted microbiome functions confirmed by metabolomic profiling showed that patients who were experiencing a major depressive episode had alterations in the cyanoamino acid pathway at baseline. High baseline levels of Firmicutes and low proportions of Bosea and Tetrasphaera were associated with response to antidepressant treatment. Based on inferred baseline metagenomic profiles, bacterial pathways that were significantly associated with treatment response were related to xenobiotics, amino acids, and lipid and carbohydrate metabolism, including tryptophan and drug metabolism. Metabolomic analyses showed that plasma tryptophan levels are independently associated with response to antidepressant treatment. Limitations: Our study has some limitations, including a lack of information on blood microbiome origin and the lack of a validation cohort to confirm our results. Conclusion: Patients with depression have a distinct blood microbiome and metabolomic signature that changes after treatment. Dysbiosis could be a new therapeutic target and prognostic tool for the treatment of patients who are experiencing a major depressive episode., Introduction Major depressive disorder (MDD) is the second most frequent cause of disability worldwide, (1) and it is among the diseases with the greatest effect on public health. (2) It [...]